Insomnia
by brainandheart
Summary: Kya can't sleep, and it's all her mother's fault.


Peace lay thicker over Air Temple Island than the layer of powdery snow that winter's night, and all save one had succumbed to sleep. Tucked in her bed, Kya shifted, turned over, and then sighed. It was no use. Her restless mind just wouldn't let her sleep. Groaning softly, she pulled herself out of bed and donned her fur-lined coat and boots.

Slipping quietly from her room, she decided, with all the grumpy unreasonableness that came with insomnia, that the entire thing was her mother's fault. After all, Kya was not the thinker of the family. No, that duty belonged to her little brother Tenzin, and she was quite happy to let him keep it. She was not the type to fret, especially over a story she had heard many times. She shook her head fiercely and stepped outside.

As usual, she had an instantaneous moment of calm at the sight of the ocean beyond the cliffs, and her mind cleared, if only for a minute. The moon was not quite full, but it still hung large and bright in the winter sky, giving off enough light for Kya to pick her way down the familiar path to the shore.

Upon reaching the bottom of the cliff, she crunched through the frost-covered sand to a boulder at the edge of the water. Etched in the rock just a few feet off the ground was a natural hollow that, according to her father, she had discovered and claimed before she was even big enough to climb into it on her own.

The hollow was close enough to the water that she could dangle bare feet in the shallows at the height of summer, but far enough that if she tucked her legs up only the occasional sea spray touched her. It had always been her favorite place to get away, and now she curled up in the hollow, letting the cold stone and the sound of waves ground her.

After a moment of peace, she reached out her hand and gently drew a stream of water up from the surf, sending it swirling around her arm with just a smooth flick of the wrist. Waterbending was her refuge, but unfortunately this time it only reminded her of her mother's story. She let the water drop with a sigh, her mind flashing back to earlier that night.

Her mother had seemed rather quieter and more reflective than usual all evening, but it wasn't until she stopped by to say goodnight that Kya had thought to ask her about it.

"My mom has just been on my mind lately," her mother had answered with a sad smile. _Grandmother_. The woman she had never met but shared a name with. It was with utmost hesitancy that she had asked, "Will you tell me again? About what happened?"

Her mother had assented and sat down on the edge of her bed.

It hadn't seemed like a big deal at the beginning, but it was the first time that she had heard the story without one of her siblings, or at least her father, there. Once her mother got into the story, Kya had quickly realized the problem: There were no distractions.

True, the story was tragic no matter what, but before there was always some inappropriate noise from one of her brothers (likely Bumi) or her dad's comforting hand on her shoulder to keep her mind in the present. This time there had been none of that.

However, strictly speaking, it hadn't been the story that had rattled her. Without distractions, she had been able to see her mother's expression as Katara related the most heartbreaking part of the tale, how Kya had lied to protect her daughter and paid for it with her life.

The look in her mother's blue eyes as she spoke had been utterly fierce and entirely loving, and the Avatar's daughter knew then that her mother understood exactly why the first Kya had done what she did. _And she would do the same for me_. The thought brought a lump to her throat that she couldn't explain away. She had barely heard the end of the story, so caught up in her emotions was she.

Her mother seemed not to realize anything had changed; she had smoothed Kya's hair back and kissed her forehead before she left, just as she had done for as long as Kya could remember. But something was different. She felt…nervous? No, that was not quite right. With a sigh, she leaned her head back against the rock. In her mind's eye she saw again her mother's expression. It was something she had never seen before, the look of a warrior, but also...somehow more.

Her mother _was_ a warrior, Kya knew, just like her father, her Uncle Sokka, Aunt Suki, Aunt Toph, and Uncle Zuko. All of them had fought so hard to bring about the end of the war. And, of course, they were not the only ones. Many people had given up so much to create the peaceful world that was all she knew. Her grandmother had even given her life!

It was then that she knew what the problem was. She had realized earlier that her mother would give her life for hers, but would Kya have the strength to make a similar sacrifice? Her stomach clenched at the very thought. She didn't even like sharing fruit pie with her little brothers!

"Kya?"

Kya turned her head so fast that she knocked into the edge of the hollow. "Ow." She rubbed her forehead as her mother rushed forward.

"I didn't mean to startle you." Katara squinted in the moonlight to search for a wound. "Are you all right?"

Kya dropped her hand, and her eyes shifted away from her mother's probing stare. "I'm fine."

Satisfied that there was no scratch, her mother leaned back and chuckled. "You know, you're about as bad a liar as your father." She raised her eyebrows. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"I would have had to actually fall asleep to have a nightmare," Kya muttered. She pulled her legs in close and rested her chin on her knees. Her mother's eyes narrowed in concern. "What's wrong, Kya? There's obviously something up for you to be out here at this time of night."

"I think I'm a coward," she mumbled into her knees. Her voice was so quiet she wondered if her mother even heard it.

"What do you mean?" Confusion filled her mother's voice.

Kya's head shot up and she glared at her mom. "I'm a coward, okay?"

"Oh, sweetheart, how could you think that? You're thirteen years old!" Her mother reached out to tuck an errant strand of hair back, but Kya jerked away from the touch.

"So? That's like how old you and Dad were when you were saving the world!"

Katara sighed. "That may be true, but to be completely honest, those were…well, special circumstances. We only did what we had to do. We fought to defeat Fire Lord Ozai because we thought it was the only way to stop the war."

"I don't think I could do that, though," Kya whispered. She couldn't look her mother in the eye as she admitted, "I'd be too scared."

"Honey," Katara lifted her chin, "everyone gets scared sometimes. If anyone says otherwise, they're lying." Seeing that her daughter didn't quite believe her, she tried a different tack. "Kya, do you remember me telling you about what I did on the day of Sozin's Comet?"

Kya nodded and pulled her knees in closer. "You and Uncle Zuko went to fight Princess Azula."

"Well, when Zuko was taken out, and Azula came towards me, powerful and with blue fire blazing, that was one of the most terrifying moments of my life."

"But you fought Azula…and you won."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I wasn't scared! I felt alone and weak. Your Uncle Zuko had just been shot with lightning and I didn't even know if he was alive. I _knew_ your dad was going to come back and face the Fire Lord, but I still had no idea where he was or if he was okay. My brother, my friends, they were all out there fighting, and I didn't know what was happening. I was terrified, but I had to stop Azula, and so I did."

Kya's eyebrows lifted. "It was that simple?"

"Well, yes…and no." Her mother gently tugged her out of the hollow and onto her feet. She placed her hands on Kya's shoulders. For the first time since she had admitted her cowardice, Kya met her mother's gaze, and, as cheesy as it sounded, she saw nothing but love and understanding there. "Sweetheart, my point is that bravery is rarely what you think about when you're actually being brave, and even more than that, it's okay to be afraid."

"Really?"

"Really. One of the things you'll learn in life is that people can surprise you…but, more importantly, you can surprise yourself." Katara hugged her daughter and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You are stronger than you know."

Kya relaxed in her mother's embrace. For the first time that night she felt…exhausted. "Uh, Mom?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you let go of me so I can go to bed now?"

Katara laughed and released her. "All right."

The pair started back up the cliff path. About halfway up the path something suddenly occurred to Kya. "Mom, how did you know I was out here?"

"Easy. Mother's intuition."

"What? Is that even real?"

"Of course it is."

"Well…how does it work?"

"You want to know?"

"Yes!"

"Fine, I'll tell you…You'll understand when you're older." With that, Katara patted her cheek and slipped inside the house.

"…I hate it when she does that."

* * *

AN: I feel this is very rambly, but I thought Kya deserved some love, so here it is :)


End file.
